COVID UPDATE: 01/08/2021 (Edition #24)
* By Kirk Hawthorne
At long last the vaccine has arrived at Saint John XXIII Home. On Wednesday, a crew of pharmacists from CVS pharmacy, arrived at the facility at 11am and administered the PFIZER vaccine to 87 residents and 63 staff. The CVS crew is scheduled to return to the facility on January 27th for an additional vaccination clinic. Protocols have been established for residents and staff to be monitored for any side effects from the vaccination process. At this point, we are seeing minor symptoms (sore arm) from the vaccine. This is a major step in the right direction.
At the beginning of the week, we were able to return the Special Needs Unit and the Personal Care unit to a Green Zone. The health impact that this virus causes varies greatly by individual. At present, the effects of the virus are decreasing daily and residents seem to be on the rebound.
Unfortunately, we continue to battle this virus here at Saint John XXIII Home. Residents within the nursing home and personal care home were tested this week. In total, 8 nursing home residents and 4 staff members tested positive for COVID this week. We have established a Red Zone within the nursing home for those who have tested positive. A yellow zone has been implemented for those residents who tested negative on 1/7/21, as a measure of caution. Everyone is doing well and signs/symptoms are minor at this time. Please keep our residents, their families and our staff members in your thoughts and prayers.
We will be monitoring all residents for signs and symptoms of COVID and will test should symptoms arise. We will also continue our surveillance testing of residents and staff next week. Staff will be tested again on Monday (1/11/21). The resident testing date will be determined based on staff results and any resident symptom identification.
This virus continues to spread throughout our community. We are being diligent in our attempt to prevent, mitigate and now treat the impact of this virus. Words can not express OUR gratitude for the outpouring of love, support, encouragement and trust during these times. We have lost residents, loved ones, family members, friends and co-workers as a result of this virus. Our staff members continue to place themselves in potential “harm’s way” out of love, respect, dedication and determination. Please continue to pray for our residents and their family members, as well as, our incredible staff who are truly hero’s during these unprecedented times. We ask that you help us by doing your part to slow the spread of the virus. Please continue to pray for our residents, staff and the family members of everyone involved.